Be enriched by immigrants, urges retiring cardinal

January 31, 2011

Looking ahead to his retirement in February, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony wrote that he intends to spend the coming months and years "walking in solidarity with the 11 million immigrants who have come to the United States to improve their own lives and the life of our country."

He also plans to spend time advocating on behalf of the "silent millions."

In a column posted on the archdiocesan website Jan. 16, Mahony encouraged people to get to know immigrants as individuals, not as stereotypes, and urged all levels of society — business and professional leaders, schools and Catholic organizations — to put a human face on immigrants and help them "find their rightful place in our society.

We will discover that their core values are the same as ours, and that they are here to help enrich, not diminish, our fine country," he wrote.